The leader of the New Democracy party, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, was sworn in on Monday for a second term as prime minister in Greece, as the right emerges stronger from the legislative elections.
The 55-year-old Conservative leader, who came to power in 2019, won his bet by obtaining an absolute majority on Sunday which will allow him to form a government without having to forge an alliance.
With 40.55% of the vote, New Democracy (ND) has indeed secured 158 MP seats out of the 300 in the unicameral Greek parliament.
These elections, the second in five weeks, were also marked by a shift to the right, with the debacle of the left-wing Syriza party and the election of deputies from three small nationalist or far-right parties.
In the presence of the President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou and the Archbishop of the Orthodox Church Ieronymos, Kyriakos Mitsotakis took a religious oath, according to tradition in Greece.
“We are starting hard work for major reforms,” he said after being received by the head of state. “I am committed to implementing changes […] major during this second four-year term […] We have a comfortable parliamentary majority to do so”.
The new government must be appointed immediately.
On Sunday, the ND achieved a better score than when it came to power four years ago (39.85% in 2019), and one of its best performances since the restoration of democracy in 1974.
“Major Reforms”
The right secured an absolute majority thanks to a “bonus” of 50 seats granted to the party that came out on top.
In the previous election, on May 21, Mr. Mitsotakis did not achieve his goals due to a different voting system. After having ruled out forming a coalition, he had called for new elections, held on Sunday.
For this second term, he is displaying an ambitious economic program, with promises of wage increases, especially for the lowest incomes, but also massive hiring of medical personnel and doctors in public hospitals.
His first mandate was marked by the revival of the economy and the fall in unemployment, in a country which suffers from the high cost of living and low wages.
With this large victory, this man from a long line of political leaders can now claim a major role within the European right. “New Democracy is the strongest centre-right party in Europe! “, he launched Sunday evening in front of his troops.
“Without opponent, absolute domination of Mitsotakis”, headlined the centrist daily on Monday Your Neawhile some analysts are worried about the omnipotence of the right in Parliament in the face of a very weakened left opposition.
The Syriza party of former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (2015-2019) suffered a crushing defeat, failing even to maintain its score of 20% on May 21.
Syriza only won 17.84% of the vote on Sunday, a difference of more than 20 points with New Democracy.
“It was an uphill battle […] The result is obviously negative for us, ”admitted the pugnacious forties.
For many analysts, his days at the head of Syriza now appear numbered. After the previous setback on May 21, he admitted to having considered resigning.
Ten days after the deadly sinking of a boat overloaded with migrants off the coast of Greece, which undoubtedly caused hundreds of deaths, three small nationalist and anti-migrant parties will also sit in the new Parliament.
Between them, they won 12.77% of the vote.
Among them, the “Spartans” created a surprise with 4.64% of the vote and 12 elected deputies. This party, unknown until recently, is supported by a former executive of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn formation, Ilias Kassidiaris. The latter, anti-Semitic and revisionist, is currently serving a heavy prison sentence and had therefore been prevented by the Supreme Court from standing for election.
This election was also marked by high abstention (47%), no doubt a reflection of the weariness of voters called to the polls twice in five weeks.